school management
The accidental teacher
After falling into teaching when his original career plans stalled, this Adelaide principal set out to make his mark in education.
By Gianna Ferrara
A dynamic, visionary and authentic Catholic school leader who is passionate about leading contemporary educational change, informed by research, to foster outstanding learning outcomes for students – this is Dr Paul Rijken.
As principal and CEO of Cardijn College and Marcellin Technical College in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, Rijken thrives on leading a unique learning environment. Cardijn is a middle and senior school( Years 8 – 12) with an enrolment of 900 students and 120 staff. Its second campus, Marcellin, is a technical and vocational education school for students in Years 10 – 12 with an enrolment of 152 students and 14 staff.
Rijken started his career as a PE teacher in the early 1980s, and became a house leader and senior teacher at Cardijn College in the early 1990s. A stint as deputy principal at St Aloysius College( R – 12 Catholic girls school) led to his appointment as principal of Cardijn in 2005.
“ I actually fell into teaching by accident,” Rijken says.“ I originally wanted to join the navy when I was at school, but was not able to meet the medical requirements as my eyesight was not 20 / 20 vision.
“ I was an avid sportsman and keen on PE, so I was thrilled to begin my Bachelor of Education( Secondary) degree at what was then the Sturt College of Advanced Education.
“ I was keen to make a difference in society as I’ m a great believer that education makes life better, makes people better and ultimately helps to make the world better.”
His experience also includes a stint as a commanding officer of the 10th / 27th Battalion of the Royal South Australia Regiment, the premier Army Reserve unit in SA, with a unit strength of over 600. In this role he successfully commanded the unit during the deployment of members on Operation Gold, the security of the Sydney Olympics and the deployment of two operational rotations on active service to Butterworth, Malaysia.
In 2016, Rijken successfully merged Marcellin Technical College with Cardijn College as one school on two campuses providing extensive curriculum offerings and pathways for mainstream academic and vocational / trade destinations; realigned a business plan which provided financial sustainability and growth; facilitated a reimagined college culture aligning the Charism of Joseph Cardijn and Marcellin Champagnat; and established partnerships with Curtin University, training providers and industry to provide leading STEM programs at both schools. The college has established itself as a leading STEM school in SA.
Rijken also established a whole-ofschool professional learning culture and program for teaching staff in collaboration with Curtin University, using perception data to inform whole-school improvement in the learning environment. He also set up a Catholic education sector-wide collaborative learning project in partnership with the university using the Effective Schools Improvement program involving 20 secondary and primary schools.
In the last six years, Rijken has held senior appointments in Catholic Education, notably as a commissioner with the South Australian Commission for Catholic Schools, chair of the People and Culture Standing Committee and chair of the Association of Principals of Catholic Secondary Schools.
This year, he has been appointed director of the Catholic Secondary Principals Australia and member of the Regional Council( Southern) for Marist Schools Australia.
In 2017, he completed a PhD in mathematics and science from Curtin University and was awarded Principals Australia Institute’ s John Laing Award for Professional Development.
Given his reputation for leading wholeschool improvement and collaborative
24 | educationreview. com. au